User Equipment Component Carrier Allocation

ABSTRACT

A method for configuring at least one component carrier (CC) for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). The method includes receiving a CC configuration using a signaling protocol, wherein the CC is assigned using a semi-static configuration. Also included is a user equipment (UE) comprising a processor configured to receive a CC configuration for at least one CC for a PDSCH using a signaling protocol, wherein the CC is assigned using a semi-static configuration. Also included is an access node comprising a processor configured to transmit a CC configuration for at least one CC for a PDSCH using a signaling protocol, wherein the CC is assigned using a semi-static configuration.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to U.S. provisional patentapplication No. 61/164,788 filed Mar. 30, 2009, by Zhijun Cai, et al,entitled “User Equipment Component Carrier Allocation”(34987-US-PRV-4214-16200), which is incorporated by reference herein asif reproduced in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

As used herein, the terms “user equipment” and “UE” can refer to mobiledevices such as mobile telephones, personal digital assistants, handheldor laptop computers, and similar devices that have telecommunicationscapabilities. Such a UE might consist of a wireless device and itsassociated Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) that includes aSubscriber Identity Module (SIM) application, a Universal SubscriberIdentity Module (USIM) application, or a Removable User Identity Module(R-UIM) application or might consist of the device itself without such acard. The term “UE” can also refer to devices that have similarcapabilities but that are not transportable, such as fixed linetelephones, desktop computers, set-top boxes, or network nodes. When aUE is a network node, the network node could act on behalf of anotherfunction such as a wireless device or a fixed line device and simulateor emulate the wireless device or fixed line device. For example, forsome wireless devices, the IP (Internet Protocol) Multimedia Subsystem(IMS) Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) client that would typicallyreside on the device actually resides in the network and relays SIPmessage information to the device using optimized protocols. In otherwords, some functions that were traditionally carried out by a wirelessdevice can be distributed in the form of a remote UE, where the remoteUE represents the wireless device in the network. The term “UE” can alsorefer to any hardware or software component that can terminate acommunication session for a user. Also, the terms “user agent,” “UA,”“user device” and “user node” might be used synonymously herein.

As telecommunications technology has evolved, more advanced networkaccess equipment has been introduced that can provide services that werenot possible previously. This network access equipment might includesystems and devices that are improvements of the equivalent equipment ina traditional wireless telecommunications system. Such advanced or nextgeneration equipment may be included in evolving wireless communicationsstandards, such as long-term evolution (LTE) or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A).For example, an LTE or LTE-A system might include an Evolved UniversalTerrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) node B (eNB), a wirelessaccess point, or a similar component rather than a traditional basestation. As used herein, the term “access node” will refer to anycomponent of the wireless network, such as a traditional base station, awireless access point, an LTE or LTE-A eNB, or a router that creates ageographical area of reception and transmission coverage allowing a UEor a relay node to access other components in a telecommunicationssystem. In this document, the term “access node” and “access device” maybe used interchangeably, but it is understood that an access node maycomprise a plurality of hardware and software.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of this disclosure, reference is nowmade to the following brief description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings and detailed description, wherein like referencenumerals represent like parts.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an embodiment of a wireless communication systemaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an embodiment of a separate coding schemeaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of another embodiment of a separate coding schemeaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an embodiment of a joint coding scheme accordingto an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of another embodiment of a joint coding schemeaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method for configuring a plurality of CCs fora downlink according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a processor and related components suitable forimplementing the several embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It should be understood at the outset that although illustrativeimplementations of one or more embodiments of the present disclosure areprovided below, the disclosed systems and/or methods may be implementedusing any number of techniques, whether currently known or in existence.The disclosure should in no way be limited to the illustrativeimplementations, drawings, and techniques illustrated below, includingthe exemplary designs and implementations illustrated and describedherein, but may be modified within the scope of the appended claimsalong with their full scope of equivalents.

In some cases it is desirable for an access device to transmit a largeamount of data to a UE in a short amount of time. For instance, a videocast may include large amounts of audio and video data that has to betransmitted to a UE over a short amount of time. As another instance, aUE may run several applications that all have to transmit data packetsto an access device at about the same time which may cause the combineddata transfer to be extremely large. One way to increase the rate ofdata transmission is to use multiple component carriers (CC), e.g.,multiple carrier frequencies instead of a single CC to communicatebetween an access device and the UEs.

LTE-A is a mobile communication standard that is currently beinginvestigated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) as a majorenhancement of LTE. In LTE-A, the access device may transmit user datato the UE using a plurality of CCs. The CCs may be distributed aboutequally over a predetermined combined bandwidth, e.g., each CC maycomprise about an equal portion of the combined bandwidth. The CCs mayalso be used to transmit control data over a Physical Downlink ControlChannel (PDCCH). The user data and control data may be transmitted usingseparate coding, where a plurality of PDCCHs and a plurality ofcorresponding CCs may be allocated to the UE, or using joint coding,where a shared PDCCH and a plurality of associated CCs may be allocated.

Disclosed herein is a system and method for assigning a plurality of CCsto the user data transmission and the PDCCH transmission. Using asemi-static configuration, the access device may assign the CCs to a UEand subsequently switch or change the assigned CCs for the UE. In thesemi-static configuration, the access device may signal the UE, forinstance using a signaling protocol, such as Radio Resource Control(RRC) signaling or Media Access Control (MAC) signaling. In the case ofseparate coding, the same CCs for the user data transmission and thecorresponding PDCCH may be signaled using the same parameter. In thecase of joint coding, different CCs may be signaled for the user datatransmission and the PDCCH, for instance using a bitmap to reduce thesignaling overhead. The semi-static configuration may also beimplemented for uplinks (ULs) established to transport user data andcontrol data from the UEs to the access device.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a wireless communication system 100.FIG. 1 is exemplary and may have other components or arrangements inother embodiments. The wireless communication system 100 may comprise atleast one UE 110 and an access device 120. The UE 110 may wirelesslycommunicate, via a wireless link, with the network access device 120.The wireless link may conform to any of a plurality oftelecommunications standards or initiatives, such as those described inthe 3GPP, including LTE, GSM, GPRS/EDGE, High Speed Packet Access(HSPA), and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS).Additionally or alternatively, the wireless link may conform to any of aplurality of standards described in the 3GPP2, including InterimStandard 95 (1S-95), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 2000 standards1xRTT or 1xEV-DO. The wireless link may also be compatible with otherstandards, such as those described by the Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE), or other industry forums, such as theWiMAX forum.

The access device 120 may be an eNB, a base station, or other componentsthat promote network access for the UE 110. The access device 120 maycommunicate with any UE 110, which may be within the same cell 130,directly via a direct link. For instance, the direct link may be apoint-to-point link established between the access device 120 and the UE110 and used to transmit and receive signals between the two. The UE 110may also communicate with at least a second UE 110 within the same cell.The access device 120 may also communicate with other components ordevices (not shown) to provide these other components of the wirelesscommunication system 100 access to other networks.

The UE 110 and the access device 120 may wirelessly communicate via atleast one downlink (DL) channel, at least one uplink (UL) channel, orboth. The downlink and uplink channels may be physical channels, whichmay be statically, semi-statically, or dynamically allocated networkresources. For instance, the downlink and uplink channels may compriseat least one physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), at least onephysical downlink control channel (PDCCH), at least one physical uplinkshared channel (PUSCH), at least one physical uplink control channel(PUCCH), or combinations thereof. In an embodiment, the downlink anduplink channels may be established using frequency-division duplexing(FDD), where signals are received and transmitted at differentfrequencies. Additionally or alternatively, the downlink and uplinkchannels may be established using time-division, where the signals maybe transmitted, received, or both at different transmission timeintervals (TTIs).

In an embodiment, the access device 120 may transmit user data, such asvoice, video, or other communication data, to the UE 110 over a DL, suchas the PDSCH. The access device 120 may also transmit control data, suchas resource allocation and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)information, to the UE over the PDCCH. The access device 120 may receivefrom the UE 110 user data over an UL, such as the PUSCH, control dataover the PUCCH, or both. The wireless communication system 100, maysupport the LTE-A standard, where the user data and control data may betransported using a plurality of CCs that extend a predeterminedbandwidth. For example, the user data and control data may betransmitted using about five CCs, which may be distributed about equallyover a total combined bandwidth of about 100 mega Hertz (MHz), e.g.,each CC may comprise a bandwidth of about 20 mega Hertz (MHz). The userdata and control data may also be transported over each CC using the3GPP Release 8 (R8) standard. As such, the data may be received over asingle CC using the R8 standard or over multiple CCs using the LTE-Astandard.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a separate coding scheme 200, whichmay be used to transport a plurality of user data streams 210 a, 210 b,and 210 c and a plurality of control data streams 220 a, 220 b, and 220c that correspond to the user data streams 210 a, 210 b, and 210 c,respectively. The user data streams 210 a, 210 b, and 210 c and thecontrol data streams 220 a, 220 b, and 220 c may be transmitted using aplurality of CCs, CC1, CC2, and CC3, over a plurality of PDSCHs and aplurality of PDCCHs associated with the PDSCHs. Specifically, thedifferent user data streams 210 a, 210 b, and 210 c and correspondingcontrol data streams 220 a, 220 b, and 220 c may be transmitted usingthe different CCs, CC1, CC2, and CC3. Additionally, each of the userdata streams 210 a, 210 b, and 210 c and corresponding control data 220a, 220 b, and 220 c may be transmitted using the same CC1, CC2, or CC3over each PDSCH and each associated PDCCH. For example, the user datastream 210 a and corresponding control data stream 220 a may betransmitted using CC1, the user data stream 210 b and correspondingcontrol data stream 220 b may be transmitted using CC2, and the userdata stream 210 c and corresponding control data stream 220 c may betransmitted using CC3. The user data streams 210 a, 210 b, and 210 c andcorresponding control data streams 220 a, 220 b, and 220 c may also betransmitted within the same sub-frame, which may be equal to about onemillisecond.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of a separate coding scheme 300, whichmay also be used to transport a plurality of user data streams 310 a,310 b, and 310 c and a plurality of control data streams 320 a, 320 b,and 320 c that correspond to the user data streams 310 a, 310 b, and 310c, respectively. Similar to the separate coding scheme 200, the userdata streams 310 a, 310 b, and 310 c and corresponding control datastreams 320 a, 320 b, and 320 c may be transmitted using a plurality ofCCs, CC1, CC2, and CC3, over a plurality of PDSCHs and a plurality ofassociated PDCCHs. However, any of the user data streams 310 a, 310 b,or 310 c and corresponding control data streams 320 a, 320 b, and 320 cmay be transmitted over the PDSCH and the associated PDCCH usingdifferent CCs. For example, the user data stream 310 a may betransmitted using CC1 and the corresponding control data stream 320 amay be transmitted using CC3, the user data stream 310 b may betransmitted using CC2 and the corresponding control data stream 320 bmay be transmitted using CC1, and the user data stream 310 c may betransmitted using CC3 and the corresponding control data stream 320 cmay be transmitted using CC2.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of a joint coding scheme 400, which maybe used to transport a plurality of user data streams 410 a, 410 b, and410 c and a shared control data stream 420 corresponding to the userdata streams 410 a, 410 b, 410 c. The user data streams 410 a, 410 b,and 410 c may be transmitted using a plurality of CCs, CC1, CC2, andCC3, over a plurality of PDSCHs, and the shared control data stream 420may be transmitted over one PDCCH associated with the PDSCHs.Specifically, the different user data streams 410 a, 410 b, and 410 cmay be transmitted using the different CCs, CC1, CC2, and CC3, and theshared control data stream 420 may be transmitted using one CC. Forexample, the user data stream 410 a may be transmitted using CC1, theuser data stream 410 b and the shared control data stream 420 may betransmitted using CC2, and the user data stream 410 c may be transmittedusing CC3.

FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of a joint coding scheme 500, which mayalso be used to transport a plurality of user data streams 510 a, 510 b,and 510 c and a shared control data stream 520 corresponding to the userdata streams 510 a, 510 b, and 510 c. Similar to the joint coding scheme400, the user data streams 510 may be transmitted using a plurality ofCCs, CC1, CC2, and CC3, over a plurality of PDSCHs, and the differentuser data streams 510 a, 510 b, and 510 c may be transmitted using thedifferent CCs, CC1, CC2, and CC3. The shared control data stream 520 mayalso be transmitted over one PDCCH associated with the PDSCHs. However,the shared control data stream 520 may be transmitted using the combinedbandwidth of all or at least some of the CCs, CC1, CC2, and CC3. Forexample, the user data stream 510 a may be transmitted using CC1, theuser data stream 510 b may be transmitted using CC2, and the user datastream 510 c may be transmitted using CC3. Further, the shared controldata stream 520 may be transmitted using CC1, CC2, and CC3, where eachCC may be used to transmit a portion of the shared control data stream520.

In an embodiment, the UE 110 may transmit the user data over the PDSCHusing a semi-static configuration. Accordingly, at least one CC may beassigned to the user data at some time intervals, which may be greaterthan about a duration of a sub-frame, e.g., about one millisecond. Forexample, the time delays between switching or reassigning the CCs overthe PDSCH may be equal to about a few seconds or minutes. The timeintervals of the semi-configuration may be larger than the timeintervals used in a dynamic configuration, which may be on the order ofa duration of a sub-frame or equal to about one millisecond. As such,the CCs may be assigned or switched less frequently using thesemi-static configuration, which may reduce the procedure complexity,reduce communications and hence power consumption, or both.

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of a method 600 for configuring aplurality of CCs for the PDSCH. In block 610, the access device 120 mayassign the CCs for the PDSCH to the UE 110 using a signaling protocoland the semi-static configuration. For instance, during a call setup,the access device 120 may signal to the UE 110 information about atleast one CC for the PDSCH, using the RRC protocol. The RRC protocol maybe responsible for the assignment, configuration, and release of radioresources between a UE and a network node or other LTE equipment. TheRRC protocol is described in detail in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS)36.331. According to the RRC protocol, the two basic RRC modes for a UEare defined as “idle mode” and “connected mode.” During the connectedmode or state, the UE may exchange signals with the network and performother related operations, while during the idle mode or state, the UEmay shut down at least some of its connected mode operations. Idle andconnected mode behaviors are described in detail in 3GPP TS 36.304 andTS 36.331. Alternatively, the access device 120 may assign the CCs usingMAC control elements, which may be less reliable than RRC signaling. Inblock 620, the access device 120 may transmit user data to the UE 110over the PDSCH using the assigned CCs. In block 630, the access device120 may reconfigure the CCs for the PDSCH using a signaling protocol.For instance, during the call, the access device 120 may switch orreassign at least some of CCs to the UE 110 via RRC signaling or MACcontrol elements. To improve the reliability of the CC reconfiguration,the assigned CC information may be synchronized between the accessdevice 120 and the UE 110, for instance using a “start time” in the RRCor MAC signal. The start time may be a time offset relative to areference time, such as a call initiation time, or may be an absolutetime. Alternatively, the assigned CC information may be synchronizedaccording to the R8 standard.

In an embodiment, when the access device 120 reconfigures the CCs, thequantity of the reassigned CCs may be different than the quantity of thepreviously assigned CCs to the UE 110. For, instance, the UE 110 may beinitially assigned a maximum number of CCs, e.g., equal to about fiveCCs, and may then be reassigned less than the maximum number of CCs. Theaccess device 120 may reduce the number of assigned CCs to reduce theduration of the connected mode or state of the UE 110, which may savesome of the battery power of the UE 110. The access device 120 may alsoreduce the number of assigned CCs to establish load balancing for theCCs in the network. For example, the access device 120 may reduce thenumber of CCs for a first UE 110 by reassigning some of the CCs from thefirst UE 110 to a second UE 110, which may establish a new connection.In some embodiments, the number of assigned CCs for the UE 110 may beincreased to support an increase in the transmission data rate for theUE 110.

Additionally, the access device 120 may assign and/or switch a pluralityof CCs for a PDCCH in a manner substantially similar to the CCreconfiguration for the PDSCH, e.g., using the semi-static configurationand a signaling protocol, such as RRC signaling or MAC signaling. Forinstance, in the case of separate coding, a plurality of PDCCHs may beassociated with a plurality of PDSCHs and the same CCs may be signaledfor any PDSCH and its associated PDCCH using a single parameter orindicator. In some separate coding schemes where a PDSCH may be assigneddifferent CCs than its associated PDCCH, two parameters may be used whensignaling the CCs for the PDSCH and its associated PDCCH.

In the case of joint coding, where one PDCCH may be associated with aplurality of PDSCHs, the CCs assigned for the PDCCH may be differentthan the CCs assigned for the PDSCH. For example, three CCs comprising acombined bandwidth of about 60 MHz may be assigned for the PDSCH and oneor two CCs may be assigned for the PDCCH. Hence, two parameters may besignaled for the PDSCH and the PDCCH using RRC or MAC signaling. In anembodiment, a bitmap may be used to signal the CCs for the PDSCH and thePDCCH to reduce the signaling overhead. For example, to signal the threeCCs for the PDSCH and the two CCs for the PDCCH, five bits in thesignaled bitmap may be set.

In an embodiment, the CCs may be assigned for a UL, such as the PUSCH,and the PUCCH in a manner substantially similar to the PDSCH and thePDCCH. For instance, a semi-static configuration and signaling protocolmay be used to assign and/or switch a plurality of CCs for any UL andits associated PUCCH. Further, the CCs may be signaled using the sameparameter for the UL and its associated PUCCH in a separate codingscheme or using a bitmap in a joint coding scheme.

The UA 110 and other components described above might include aprocessing component that is capable of executing instructions relatedto the actions described above. FIG. 7 illustrates an example of asystem 700 that includes a processing component 710 suitable forimplementing one or more embodiments disclosed herein. In addition tothe processor 710 (which may be referred to as a central processor unitor CPU), the system 700 might include network connectivity devices 720,random access memory (RAM) 730, read only memory (ROM) 740, secondarystorage 750, and input/output (I/O) devices 760. These components mightcommunicate with one another via a bus 770. In some cases, some of thesecomponents may not be present or may be combined in various combinationswith one another or with other components not shown. These componentsmight be located in a single physical entity or in more than onephysical entity. Any actions described herein as being taken by theprocessor 710 might be taken by the processor 710 alone or by theprocessor 710 in conjunction with one or more components shown or notshown in the drawing, such as a DSP 702. Although the DSP 702 is shownas a separate component, the DSP 702 might be incorporated into theprocessor 710.

The processor 710 executes instructions, codes, computer programs, orscripts that it might access from the network connectivity devices 720,RAM 730, ROM 740, or secondary storage 750 (which might include variousdisk-based systems such as hard disk, floppy disk, or optical disk).While only one CPU 710 is shown, multiple processors may be present.Thus, while instructions may be discussed as being executed by aprocessor, the instructions may be executed simultaneously, serially, orotherwise by one or multiple processors. The processor 710 may beimplemented as one or more CPU chips.

The network connectivity devices 720 may take the form of modems, modembanks, Ethernet devices, universal serial bus (USB) interface devices,serial interfaces, token ring devices, fiber distributed data interface(FDDI) devices, wireless local area network (WLAN) devices, radiotransceiver devices such as code division multiple access (CDMA)devices, global system for mobile communications (GSM) radio transceiverdevices, worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX)devices, and/or other well-known devices for connecting to networks.These network connectivity devices 720 may enable the processor 710 tocommunicate with the Internet or one or more telecommunications networksor other networks from which the processor 710 might receive informationor to which the processor 710 might output information. The networkconnectivity devices 720 might also include one or more transceivercomponents 725 capable of transmitting and/or receiving data wirelessly.

The RAM 730 might be used to store volatile data and perhaps to storeinstructions that are executed by the processor 710. The ROM 740 is anon-volatile memory device that typically has a smaller memory capacitythan the memory capacity of the secondary storage 750. ROM 740 might beused to store instructions and perhaps data that are read duringexecution of the instructions. Access to both RAM 730 and ROM 740 istypically faster than to secondary storage 750. The secondary storage750 is typically comprised of one or more disk drives or tape drives andmight be used for non-volatile storage of data or as an over-flow datastorage device if RAM 730 is not large enough to hold all working data.Secondary storage 750 may be used to store programs that are loaded intoRAM 730 when such programs are selected for execution.

The I/O devices 760 may include liquid crystal displays (LCDs), touchscreen displays, keyboards, keypads, switches, dials, mice, track balls,voice recognizers, card readers, paper tape readers, printers, videomonitors, or other well-known input/output devices. Also, thetransceiver 725 might be considered to be a component of the I/O devices760 instead of or in addition to being a component of the networkconnectivity devices 720.

The following are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes:3GPP TS 36.212, 3GPP TS 36.213, 3GPP TS 36.304, 3GPP TS 36.331, 3GPP TS36.814, and R1-090375.

In an embodiment, a method is provided for configuring at least one CCfor a PDSCH. The method includes receiving a CC configuration using asignaling protocol, wherein the CC is assigned using a semi-staticconfiguration.

In an embodiment, the method for configuring the CC for the PDSCHfurther comprises receiving a CC configuration for at least one CC for aPDCCH associated with the PDSCH using the signaling protocol, whereinthe CC is assigned using the semi-static configuration.

In an embodiment, the method for configuring the CC for the PDSCHfurther comprises transmitting a CC configuration for at least one CCfor an UL using a signaling protocol, wherein the CC is assigned usingthe semi-static configuration.

In an embodiment, the method for configuring the CC for the PDSCHfurther comprises transmitting a CC configuration for at least one CCfor a PUCCH associated with the UL using the signaling protocol, whereinthe CC is assigned using the semi-static configuration.

In another embodiment, a method is provided for configuring at least oneCC for a PDSCH. The method includes transmitting a CC configurationusing a signaling protocol, wherein the CC is assigned using asemi-static configuration.

In another embodiment, a UE is provided. The UE includes a processorconfigured to receive a CC configuration for at least one CC for a PDSCHusing a signaling protocol, wherein the CC is assigned using asemi-static configuration.

In another embodiment, an access node is provided. The access nodeincludes a processor configured to transmit a CC configuration for atleast one CC for a PDSCH using a signaling protocol, wherein the CC isassigned using a semi-static configuration.

While several embodiments have been provided in the present disclosure,it should be understood that the disclosed systems and methods may beembodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spiritor scope of the present disclosure. The present examples are to beconsidered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the intention is notto be limited to the details given herein. For example, the variouselements or components may be combined or integrated in another systemor certain features may be omitted, or not implemented.

Also, techniques, systems, subsystems and methods described andillustrated in the various embodiments as discrete or separate may becombined or integrated with other systems, modules, techniques, ormethods without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.Other items shown or discussed as coupled or directly coupled orcommunicating with each other may be indirectly coupled or communicatingthrough some interface, device, or intermediate component, whetherelectrically, mechanically, or otherwise. Other examples of changes,substitutions, and alterations are ascertainable by one skilled in theart and could be made without departing from the spirit and scopedisclosed herein.

1. A method for configuring at least one component carrier (CC) for aphysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) comprising: receiving a CCconfiguration using a signaling protocol, wherein the CC is assignedusing a semi-static configuration.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving a CC configuration for using one CC for the PDSCHto reduce the battery consumption of a user equipment.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: receiving a CC configuration for usingmaximum allowed CCs for the PDSCH to maximize data throughput.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the CC configuration for the PDSCH is basedon a traffic load for a user equipment.
 5. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving a CC configuration for at least one CC fora Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) associated with the PDSCHusing the signaling protocol, wherein the CC is assigned using thesemi-static configuration.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the PDCCHis configured using a separate coding scheme, and wherein the same CCsare assigned to the PDSCH and the associated PDCCH using the samesignaling parameter.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the PDCCH isconfigured using a joint coding scheme, and wherein different CCs areassigned to the DL and the associated PDCCH using a bitmap.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the signaling protocol is a Radio ResourceControl (RRC) protocol or Media Access Control (MAC) signaling.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting a CC configurationfor at least one CC for an uplink (UL) using a signaling protocol,wherein the CC is assigned using the semi-static configuration.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting a CC configurationfor at least one CC for a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH)associated with the UL using the signaling protocol, wherein the CC isassigned using the semi-static configuration.
 11. A method forconfiguring at least one (CC) for a physical downlink shared channel(PDSCH) comprising: transmitting a CC configuration using a signalingprotocol, wherein the CC is assigned using a semi-static configuration.12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: transmitting a CCconfiguration for at least one CC for a Physical Downlink ControlChannel (PDCCH) associated with the PDSCH using the signaling protocol,wherein the CC is assigned using the semi-static configuration.
 13. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising: receiving a CC configuration forat least one CC for an uplink (UL) using a signaling protocol, whereinthe CC is assigned using the semi-static configuration.
 14. The methodof claim 11, further comprising: receiving a CC configuration for atleast one CC for a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) associatedwith the UL using the signaling protocol, wherein the CC is assignedusing the semi-static configuration.
 15. A user equipment (UE)comprising: a processor configured to receive a component carrier (CC)configuration for at least one CC for a physical downlink shared channel(PDSCH) using a signaling protocol, wherein the CC is assigned using asemi-static configuration.
 16. The UE of claim 15, wherein the processorfurther receives a CC configuration for using one CC for the PDSCH toreduce the battery consumption.
 17. The UE of claim 15, wherein theprocessor further receives a CC configuration for using maximum allowedCCs for the PDSCH to maximize data throughput.
 18. The UE of claim 15,wherein the processor further receives a CC configuration for at leastone CC for a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) associated withthe PDSCH using the signaling protocol, wherein the CC is assigned usingthe semi-static configuration.
 19. The UE of claim 15, wherein theassigned CCs may be synchronized with an access node using a “starttime”.
 20. The UE of claim 15, wherein the processor further transmits aCC configuration for at least one CC for an uplink (UL) using asignaling protocol, wherein the CC is assigned using the semi-staticconfiguration.
 21. The UE of claim 15, wherein the processor furthertransmits a CC configuration for at least one CC for a Physical UplinkControl Channel (PUCCH) associated with the UL using the signalingprotocol, wherein the CC is assigned using the semi-staticconfiguration.
 22. An access node comprising: a processor configured totransmit a component carrier (CC) configuration for at least one CC fora physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) using a signaling protocol,wherein the CC is assigned using a semi-static configuration.
 23. Theaccess node of claim 22, wherein the CC configuration for the PDSCH isbased on a traffic load for a user equipment (UE).
 24. The access nodeof claim 22, wherein the processor further transmits a CC configurationfor at least one CC for a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH)associated with the PDSCH using the signaling protocol, wherein the CCis assigned using the semi-static configuration.
 25. The access node ofclaim 22, wherein the number of assigned CCs is reduced to reduce thepower consumption of the UE.
 26. The access node of claim 22, whereinthe number of assigned CCs is increased to support an increase in thetransmission data rate for the UE.
 27. The access node of claim 22,wherein the processor further receives a CC configuration for at leastone CC for an uplink (UL) using a signaling protocol, wherein the CC isassigned using the semi-static configuration.
 28. The access node ofclaim 22, wherein the processor further receives a CC configuration forat least one CC for a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) associatedwith the UL using the signaling protocol, wherein the CC is assignedusing the semi-static configuration.